A quick spin around the web for the latest Portland Trail Blazers links:

• For SI.com, Ben Golliver looks at five guards ready to emerge in the playoffs, including Damian Lillard:

Like everyone else in the world, Lillard, 23, falls short when it comes to matching Curry’s efficiency from deep (2014 Lillard is shooting 38.8 percent from deep, compared to 2013 Curry’s outrageous 45.3 percent). However, it should be noted that he is the only player in the entire league who comes close to hoisting as often as Curry. Through Tuesday, Curry led the league with 557 three-point attempts, with Lillard on his heels at 523.

Much like Curry — who starts alongside his so-called “Splash Brother” Klay Thompson — Lillard happens to be paired with another high-volume three-point launcher in Wesley Matthews (who ranks No. 4 in three-pointers attempted this season, trailing, you guessed it, Curry, Lillard and Thompson). Portland’s focus on the arc extends past its backcourt and, indeed, past only the offensive side of the ball. The Blazers rank No. 1 in the league in three-pointers made and No. 2 when it comes to fewest three-pointers conceded. In other words, whether or not the Blazers succeed in recreating the Warriors’ magic from the 2013 playoffs, they will be raising the volatility level of their first-round series by bombing and bombing and bombing.

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Even though his youth ensures that his first taste of the playoffs will be a no-risk, all-reward type of affair, Lillard simply isn’t the overly patient or complacent type. Add all of this up — his personality, the nature of his game, the style of his team, the thrilling potential match-ups, and the positional tests he could face — and Lillard joins Wizards guard John Wall as the postseason newcomers to watch this year.

Scott Howard-Cooper, NBA.com: Warriors, Trail Blazers, Grizzlies, Mavericks. I would have dropped the Rockets into that bottom four because of the health problems, but they have a pretty easy finishing schedule of three playoff teams the final nine games, albeit with some back-to-backs. The Warriors have tough road games against the Spurs tonight and the Trail Blazers, but look at the next four after San Antonio: Kings, Jazz, Nuggets, Lakers. If there’s a momentum-builder in the Western Conference, that’s it. I dropped the Suns because their next opponents are the Clippers, Trail Blazers, Thunder, Pelicans and Spurs. But Phoenix has been beating logic all season, so watch it happen again.

John Schuhmann, NBA.com: Portland is safely in the No. 5 spot, with a one-game edge in the loss column and only one road game (in Utah) and three (potential) playoff teams left on its schedule. Golden State looks good for sixth, with a two-game edge on the other three teams and six of their eight remaining games against the bottom six in the West. So it will (sort of) come down to the Dallas-Memphis-Phoenix round-robin on the 12th (PHX @ DAL), 14th (MEM @ PHX) and 16th (DAL @ MEM). I think they’ll all go 1-1 in those games, but Memphis will pick up an extra win elsewhere (they have more remaining games against non-playoff teams) and the Mavs will win the Dallas-Phoenix tiebreaker thanks to a win in that April 12 game. So I’m sticking with what I wrote a month ago. The Suns will miss out because they have the toughest schedule of the group.

Four of the Blazers' five starters have played in all 75 games this season, and as a team, Portland ranks in the league's top five in fewest games, minutes and WARP lost to injury.
The Blazers aren't alone in parlaying good health into exceeding expectations. The Toronto Raptors have been healthier than any other team in the league en route to a near certain Atlantic Division championship, while the Indiana Pacers have stayed healthy as part of their challenge for the top seed in the Eastern Conference postseason.

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On average, the 10 healthiest teams in terms of games missed have won 56.3 percent of their games. The bottom 10 have been even worse, winning just 41.8 percent of the time. That's equivalent to a 12-win swing over a full season between being among the 10 healthiest teams and the 10 most injured.

Casey Holdahl (@Chold), TrailBlazers.com: I think there's probably a little something to that. I think the players realized that they had gone as far as they could go without their best player, so getting Aldridge back, then winning the subsequent three games, maybe reminded them how good they could be when playing together. I also think the loss to the Magic was a bit of a "We need to get our act together" moment for this team that was equally as motivating as Aldridge's return.

Mike Tokito (@mtokito), The Oregonian: No, his impact on the court is the main thing. If it seems the Blazers are playing smarter and with more confidence because they have Aldridge back, that’s just because they’re simply winning again.